


absinthe

by ninthsnow



Series: to the best of her love [2]
Category: Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: F/F, amelia watson needs a hug, calli needs a drink, imagine calli as your therapist, implied inamesame, implied takamori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29040408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninthsnow/pseuds/ninthsnow
Summary: “Come to think of it,” Amelia starts, a half amused giggle already coating her hoarse voice. “We’re idiots, you and I. Loving people we can’t seem to have. We should make a club.”Calli jabs her in the rib with an elbow. “Fuck you, Watson.”Amelia’s pained grunt is laced with clear laughter.“Tea time every Fridays, then.”
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia, Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope & Watson Amelia, Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara, Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia (hololive)
Series: to the best of her love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126322
Comments: 19
Kudos: 208





	absinthe

**Author's Note:**

> clown hat? on.
> 
> clown shoes? on.
> 
> big red nose? on.
> 
> ...and uh, boxing gloves, i guess?
> 
> I suggest reading palette first if you haven't, just to give this fic a bit more context.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this!

Calli recognizes death.

And every single time she looks at Amelia, she feels it in waves—looming over the time traveler like a dedicated and gripping shadow, a feat she has yet to see on other mortals. And thus, it was not so odd that she's highly attuned to Amelia due to the peculiarity of her case.

She'd feel the exact moment the time traveler would pull at the hands of time, adding another shadow to the already palpable cluster that clung onto her like second skin. But there was something different about the pull the reaper felt this time. The death that shrouded over Amelia was consumed by _something else_ entirely—something that Calli’s only ever felt from the likes of Ninomae Ina’nis, humans turned hosts to the Ancient Ones.

It makes Calli feel nauseous. She doesn’t want that _thing_ anywhere near Amelia.

Scythe in hand, she sets for the overworld with a set destination already in mind—to a certain cabin in a highly secluded forest.

She finds Amelia Watson curled in a tight ball like a frightened kitten by the steps in front of the cabin’s door. _My spawn point_ , as the detective liked to affectionately call it for every time she jumps on the next timeline. It was an inconspicuous hut that actually served as a research office for the detective. Calli had rolled her eyes but true to her words, she’d always find Amelia there.

At first, Amelia would even be expecting her, decked in her full regalia—coat, hat, and a defeated yet still genuine smile on her face with determined eyes that Calli had no doubt she’d challenge gods themselves if she had to.

A few hundred timelines later, she’d sometimes find Amelia without her coat, sleeves rolled at uneven lengths and her red tie haphazardly crooked. A hundred more after that, was the constant presence of blood. On her shirt, her face, her hands. But if Calli had to pick the moment that gave her an actual scare, it was no qualms the first timeline where Amelia had to deal with her lost limb.

_“It got me real good this time.” Amelia laughs, her hand tightly gripping at the space above where her left forearm would have been. Calli had wanted to smack Amelia right there and then. She just lost an arm and she laughs like it’s typical Tuesdays. It’s disconcerting._

_...But there had been something new in Amelia’s gaze then too, as if she had been so close to achieving victory and there was no way she was stopping now more than ever._

_Calli always had words she wanted to say. To ask her to just… stop. She finds the words stuck on her throat, unable to breathe them to life, all because… she knew love like Amelia did too_ — _knew love in the form of flames and the eventual ashes they leave behind._

_So she holds her tongue. Knows that if her and Kiara’s circumstances were any more different, she’d stop at nothing too._

“Watson,” she calls, attempting to lose the typical rough edge in her voice. Amelia doesn’t respond but Calli knows she’s heard. She’s not unconscious, given how much she trembles and how the fingers of her right hand couldn’t quite stop clawing at her hair.

She tries again, stepping closer, making sure her footstep makes a sound so as not to spook Amelia.

“Watson.”

Amelia finally responds, head lifting to look at Calli. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and it looked like she was cradling something out of sight. 

Calli has a gut feeling of what it is and she didn’t like it.

“What the fuck did you do, Watson?” she almost doesn’t want to ask but she wanted to be proven wrong despite how all the signs are there. 

The ominous yet weak presence that surrounded her, the way Calli could feel her life force tainted in dark inks.

Gone is the scent of a mortal human, replaced by the telling _stench_ of an eldritch being.

“Hey, Calli.” the time traveler greets, attempting a smile that falls flat. Her blue eyes looked clear and despite everything, Calli could tell this was still her friend.

Amelia shifts, stretching a leg and lets the book nonchalantly fall on the ground. Calli sees it then too. In place of her prosthetic left arm was actual human flesh—or at least, a perfect imitation of it. The reaper doesn’t miss the prominent scratch marks on her left forearm, raw and still reddening, as if the time traveler had been trying to claw it off. And it was very likely given the initial state of how she found Amelia.

Calli feels a headache forming.

“Why?”

“Why what?” a teasing smile.

To think Amelia still had the guts to play cheeky little brat was both comforting and infuriating.

Calli gives the detective a look that meant she wasn’t going to be dealing with her bullshit this time around to which Amelia just gives an innocent smile in return.

Amelia laughs, leaving her spot on the small stair as she stood, giving the book that lay near her feet a little kick as she smiled impishly. 

“I’ve finally done it, Calli!” she happily declares, doing a little spin and laughs in self-amusement when she almost stumbles. “Who knew it’d be so simple. Using the Ancient Ones’ own power against itself. It took lots of redoing, mind you. The trickiest part was trying to figure out how to infuse its power with the watch…”

Calli lets her speak, both in horror and in amazement at the feat the then mortal was able to pull off. Harnessing the Ancient Ones power for her own use, to not just rewind but also _rewrite_ an entire timeline. No wonder _it_ feels so weak as if forced to recuperate. Still, she couldn’t shake off the sinking feeling in her gut. And Calli _hates_ that she just knows what Amelia plans after forcing the split between Ina and the Ancient Ones.

...Because the next logical step would be to keep the Ancient Ones as far away as possible.

Calli feels her hands clench into a fist. Surely, Amelia's reckless and self-sacrificing behavior should have its limits. Right?

“Amelia.” Calli breathes, trying to keep a lid on her quickly boiling over temper.

The detective stops talking, ever so polite. She tilts her head at Calli, always so patient and incredibly vexing at the same time.

“Once the Ancient Ones start taking control again what—what are you going to do then? Find some obsolete timeline and lock yourself away?” Calli finds heat growing in her voice despite wanting to deal with this calmly.

She was dead spot on it seems because Amelia, for the briefest moments, looked like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It almost makes her laugh if it didn’t make her so angry. Calli had always known Amelia to lack a sense of self-preservation but it's coming to hit the reaper like a hot-branded knife in the gut.

Amelia Watson's presence had always been an anomaly. However, Calli never felt her to be more _alien_ than she did now — as if she wasn't supposed to _exist_.

Rewriting a timeline to write herself, and consequently the eldritch being bound to her, off of existence.

Calli would say it was genius if it didn't make her so _livid_.

_Enough._

Amelia smiles, as if knowing that Calli has come to the same conclusion. “That doesn’t matter. I’ll deal with it. I think… I think I’ll succeed this time. All that’s left is seeing this through. For Ina and Gura.” She doesn’t miss the way the detective’s eyes flitted over to the book. “I’ll deal with it.” she repeats, more to herself than Calli.

Despite the resigned tone in Amelia’s voice, the reaper senses something else. 

A sliver of anger.

Anger…at _what_? The unfairness of it all? That, the two people she loved to the point of madness are now further away than ever? The fact that she had to bind herself to the very thing she abhorred the most?

_Enough of this._

As the new host to the Ancient Ones' will, Calli knows she can now never hurt Amelia any more than the time traveler could hurt herself.

It's with this thought that she doesn't hesitate as her fist connects harshly with Amelia's cheek.

And there it was.

The reaper sees it again. Past the initial shock from the punch was the simmering anger in Amelia’s eyes surfacing. Calli wants to drag that anger—and all that comes with it, just everything Amelia had refused to let herself feel—out in the open for both of them to see. She won’t let Amelia keep running away anymore, especially from herself.

“What the he—”

So she hits her again. 

“You’re a fucking idiot.” she sneers as Amelia staggers from the force of the blow. “You selfish, arrogant fucker.” Calli’s hands reach to grip at the collars of Amelia’s bloodied shirt, pulling the woman up before harshly slamming her forehead against hers, hurting herself in the process—and oh boy did that _hurt_.

Calli winces, her hands unintentionally letting go of Amelia to soothe the ache on her own forehead. It’s been a while since she’s felt actual physical pain and it was a sobering reminder that Amelia really wasn’t all too human anymore. They could hurt each other all they want. They weren’t playing on the same bounds as the fragility of human flesh.

She doesn't let up and tries to land another hit which Amelia actively blocks this time, albeit very clumsily, leaving her entire flank open. It only pisses Calli off even further. How this woman lasted for so long butting heads with an eldritch being is beyond her. 

"What, can't even defend yourself properly?" She taunts and delivers a swift kick to Amelia's gut that sends the blonde reeling. "No wonder it took you thousands of tries to find a solution. A _disgusting_ one at that." 

She feels the exact moment her words struck Amelia’s nerve.

The time traveler flinched, her gaze icily snapping up at Calli’s frame with deadly intensity.

“You think I haven’t tried enough?” Amelia growls. “It’s done, Calli. It’s over! That’s—that’s all that matters.”

"And this was your best solution? You had no goddamn right to poke into their minds and make them forget!”

"What should have I done then?! I just want them safe!”

“You could have tried again! Because _this_ _—_ ” Calli gestures at the _book_ on the ground. “ — is not a fucking solution! How do you think they would feel? What would Gura say about this? _Ina_? Did you even have the decency to ask?”

"I made them forget for a reason, Calli! I can’t put them through that! They shouldn’t have to remember—the Anci—" Amelia shook her head, her words stumbling. "If anyone has to suffer then let it be me. I can deal with it. I ca—"

" _They love you too_ ." Calli snapped. “They love you too, Amelia Watson. And if you just _stopped_ for a moment you’d know that they would want _you_ to be happy too.”

Amelia looked like she stopped breathing entirely, staring at Calli with uncomprehending eyes as if she didn’t understand—or simply refused to hear what the reaper had said.

Calli shook her head. If this woman just thought of herself for once. Just _once_. 

“Stop it, Amelia. Just. Stop. It. You've been running away from the consequences of your actions for so long that you forget not everyone's a fucking coward like you.” she continues to taunt.

Amelia shuts her mouth but the glare on her face doesn’t lose its intensity. She looked properly angry now and ready for the fight Calli’s been trying to spark. She only needs one more push. 

And Calli will give it to her, no matter how much the reaper disgusts herself with her next words.

“You’re playing god, Amelia Watson. How are you any different from the Ancient Ones?”

Calli doesn’t dodge the punch that came right for her face. She didn’t think she could anyway, for how quick and sudden it was. She almost smiles as she tasted blood in her mouth. 

"Thousands!" Amelia screams, a mangled laughter lacing her voice. But there was nothing but anger and resentment there. "Thousands and thousands of timelines, Calli! I had to watch as that thing destroyed the people I love for _thousands of times_!" She laughs even more. The sound was so disconcerting that Calli felt a shiver run up her spine, watching as Amelia's fingers curled at her own hair as if she wanted to reach into her skull and tear her own mind apart.

"So _don't_ … don't compare me to that thing. I am _not_ the Ancient Ones. I am not…!"

And Calli listens even as her hands shake. She listens as Amelia screams, listens as she laughs in odd intervals. She listens as she _finally_ voices out the anger, the frustration, the pain she’s kept bottled up. Because it was the least she could do. She could do this much.

For Amelia who loved so much that she had nothing left for herself anymore.

The reaper doesn’t even make a move to dodge the next punch that came. Calli lets the now immortal hit and push her to the ground. Calli lets her. She lets Amelia straddle her and braces herself as her fist comes down again.

It doesn't come.

Instead, the punch misses Calli’s face by a mere inch, an intentional move from Amelia she realizes when the blonde’s fist made contact with the ground again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Something wet hits Calli’s cheek—a single tear. It doesn’t take long for another to follow. And another. Amelia’s punches lose their force as her shoulders shake. A sob escaping her gritted teeth as she finally, _finally_ allows herself to cry.

With gentleness she didn't know she was capable of, Calli reaches for Amelia, pulling her in and lets the blonde bury her face on the crook of her neck. Amelia’s hands found purchase on Calli’s robes, her grip tight as if she was trying to ground herself as sobs wracked her entire form.

Calli holds her close. A hand gently brushing soft blonde hair as the other settles on the small of Amelia’s back, fingers tapping consolingly to the rhythm of a heartbeat they both weren’t bound to.

With Amelia in her arms, she realizes for the first time how small the time traveler actually was and it inspires a sudden flare of protectiveness in her.

And when Calli feels her sight blur and a telling knot form in her throat, she holds Amelia closer and hopes the detective stays there long enough for her to compose herself.

She’d sooner retire as a reaper than let Amelia see her crying too.

**

When Amelia stopped shivering, the sun was starting to rise and bathed everything its rays could touch with golden hues.

Amelia chuckled, the sound coming out hoarse and scratchy from all her crying. She felt better—something she thought hadn't been possible for a long while.

She lifts her face from where she had it buried on Calli's shoulder, peering over at the reaper.

She'd been crying too, Amelia realizes, from how the edges of her eyes were wet as well as her still reddened nose and how she refused to look at the detective as she stubbornly stared at the sky.

Just this once, Amelia will let it slide, swallowing the teasing remark that nearly rolled out from her tongue. Without a word, she rolls off Calli and on her back to the thankfully soft patch of grass, following the reaper's gaze to the skies above.

The sky had never looked bluer than it did now.

She allows the silence to sit between them but it doesn't last for a full minute because Amelia really can't help but tease.

“Come to think of it,” Amelia starts, a half amused giggle already coating her hoarse voice. “We’re idiots, you and I. Loving people we can’t seem to have. We should make a club.”

Calli jabs her in the rib with an elbow. “Fuck you, Watson.”

Amelia’s pained grunt is laced with clear laughter.

“Tea time every Fridays, then.” 

She can almost hear Calli roll her eyes in exasperation, not even bothering to give her a respose.

Amelia smiled.

“You’ll watch over them when I’m gone, right?”

“...That’s a weird request to make to a grim reaper."

"You're the only one I can ask and would ever trust to."

Calli sighed, but there is honesty in her voice when she speaks. "You don't have to ask, really. I'll watch over them."

Amelia closed her eyes at that, feeling another invisible weight on her shoulders lifting. She felt tired, the relieving kind of tired. "Good. That's good."

"...When are you leaving?"

Amelia had no definite answer to that except for the fact that she will eventually have to when the _whispers_ start.

"Tomorrow, next month, next year? Who knows."

"Ame—"

"But enough of that. For now, I just… I just want to sleep."

"...Alright."

“...”

“...”

"...Hey, can I cuddle you?"

"Fuck off, Watson. Go to sleep."

Amelia laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> funny thing about absinthe, a simple google search would tell you that it is an (illegal) alcoholic drink that could kill you way before you can even feel any other effects. I just found it fitting because I'd like to think my version of Amelia Watson has a personal absinthe called time traveling. Does that make sense? Sorry. English hard man. (well that, and I just absolutely had to name this fic after an alcoholic drink. wwwww)
> 
> if u want to yell at me or come say hi, im [ninthsnow](https://twitter.com/ninthsnow) on the blue birb app!


End file.
